Tales from the Convention Series, Part Four: Iglesia Internacional

This week we're looking at the fourth installment of our six-part series entitled Tales from the Convention.

This post's focus is on the Iglesia Internacional (International Church).


Several years ago, Jose Angel Jimenez, a member of the Monterrey congregation La Santa Cruz (Holy Cross), moved to Europe for work reasons.

For Jose Angel, who currently resides in Germany, the closest Lutheran church in our fellowship is two and a half hours away. He only gets there several times a year. So what does he do on the other Sundays?

He turns on his computer and worships in Spanish with people around the world. "I can be sitting in the park with my iPhone, listening through Skype," he says.

Jose Angel currently serves as president of the Iglesia Internacional, an online church with people participating from Colombia, France, and China, among other countries (the map above shows all of the places people have joined in from).

During its years of existence, the Iglesia Internacional has been a huge benefit for people like Jose Angel. The church started in 2007 as a result of distributing materials known as the Bible Teaching Series. "We handed them out and people came to us, asking for more," notes Pastor Gonzalo Delgadillo, the Spanish Publications Director of Multi-Language Publications.

The next step to serve these people came in an online format: services offered in Spanish through Skype, and Bible studies and counseling available nearly 24/7.

Over the next years, things really got rolling. "It's indescribable the way God has blessed it," notes Pastor Delgadillo. "People just come, and come, and come, looking for advice - it's hard to keep track of all the names!"

One of the next steps the church is working on is to raise money to be able to purchase computers and Internet service for individuals who could them use the equipment to participate in the online church. Pastor Delgadillo recognizes the risks involved, but says it's worth it. "The Iglesia Internacional itself only started as a result of distributing books."

I participated in the online Spanish service last Sunday and found it fascinating. Perhaps the best part was how personal the atmosphere was. After church, most stayed around to greet each other and chat. According to Jose Angel, it's a pretty close knit group: he's even made friends with others who participate and gets together with them now in person.

In August of this year, during the convention in Monterrey, Jose Angel met one person who's been supportive of the church since it got its start: Pastor Delgadillo. The two have known each other for years through the Iglesia Internacional. They both attended the Mexican Lutheran Church convention in Monterrey and met in person for the first time. Here they are in the hotel shortly after greeting each other:



Mike got to be present at the hotel for the event. "It was a really touching moment to see the two of them meet face to face for the first time," he says.

The Iglesia Internacional is such a wonderful tool for any Spanish-speaker, anywhere, who's having a hard time getting to church, whether that be due to location, a health situation, or travel reasons.

If you or anyone you know would benefit from the Iglesia Internacional, let us know! Leave a comment below, or click on the contact tab above, and tell us of your interest. We'll share the Skype username you need to touch base with in order to participate. It's easy, and the benefits - lasting.

p.s. Learn more about the Iglesia Internacional here.